“What’s that?” she asked.
He turned his head to watch her work his arm. “The camaraderie. Just being with a bunch of guys who get you. They don’t ask stupid questions or want to know how many bad guys you killed. They just get it.”
Bree gave Ryan a small smile. She got it. It was one of the reasons she applied only to military hospitals after she completed her degree.
At the end of his session, she handed Ryan a list of exercises to do at home to help strengthen his shoulder muscles. “Do me a favor? Be more careful next time. Ask for something to protect your arm.”
“I will. Thanks, Doc. See you in two weeks.”
She took a bite of spinach salad before typing “Vet Adventures” into the internet search engine. The first link was a website for Veteran Excursion Team (V.E.T.) Adventures that listed a North Carolina address. She clicked on the link and navigated to the contact page. Grabbing her phone, she dialed the number listed. An off-hook tone sounded in her ear, as if the receiver on the other end hadn’t been set in the cradle properly. She’d try again in a little while. Maybe they’d figure out that their phone was off the hook.
“Dr. Marks?” Cindy knocked on her open office door.
“I’m almost done eating. Is Mr. Barns here already?”
“The ER just called up. Mr. Barns was admitted a little while ago and when they looked him up in the system, they saw he had an appointment today.”
“Did they say why he was in the ER?”
Cindy cringed a little. “He fell and broke his other hip.”
Bree’s face fell. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Cindy shook her head.
She tossed her fork into her almost empty plastic container. “Why doesn’t anyone listen to me? I told him and his wife if he continued to overdo it, he was going to fall again.”
“Also, your four o’clock had to reschedule.”
If she left after her three o’clock appointment, she could probably make it to V.E.T. Adventures before they closed. She’d check their hours before she left, just to be sure.
“Block off that time slot for me, please. I’m going to run some errands this afternoon.”
“Sure. Also, Chad’s called four times today. He didn’t leave any messages,” Cindy said.
“Is he calling my line or the main line?”
“The main line.”
Bree scrubbed her hands over her face. She had told him not to call her at work unless it was an emergency. He knew that. She was going to have to open a door in her wall of silence to tell him to fuck off and quit bothering her.
“Do you know if we can block numbers on the office phones?”
“I don’t know. I can find out.” She wrung her hands and shifted her weight. “Can I ask?”
“I caught him cheating on me.”
“Oh. That’s…what the hell? What a shitty thing to do. Especially to someone as nice as you.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate that,” Bree told her.
“I’ll call IT and see if we can block numbers.”
“Thanks. I’ll handle it if we aren’t able to, but I don’t want to have to talk to him if I can avoid it.”
“I understand.” Cindy went back to the reception desk.
Since she had some time to spare, Bree tried to call V.E.T. Adventures again. Same busy tone. The website provided only basic information. She copied the email listed and sent a message introducing herself and requested information on the services they provided. Some of her patients would really enjoy the things this company offered. Many of them reminisced about their time in the service during their appointments. They missed the brotherhood or sisterhood of the military. If this company could give them a small sense of that again, she’d send them all the business they could handle. Hell, she’d even make a donation.
She tried to call one more time with the same results. What the hell, it was on the way home - she could just drive by this afternoon after her last appointment.
Bree parked in front of a nondescript shopping mall where V.E.T. Adventures occupied the corner storefront. She opened the glass door and entered the small reception area. It looked like the waiting room of a dentist’s office.
An older woman with a small bouffant hairstyle looked up from her computer. “Hi, welcome to Vet Adventures. How can I help you?” she asked in a thick, North Carolinian twang.
“Um, hi. I’m Brianna Marks. I’m a physical therapist at the Wounded Warrior Unit at Fort Bragg. One of my patients mentioned this place and I was hoping to get more information, maybe set up some kind of referral system for some of the vets I work with.”
“Oh honey, that’s wonderful. Jason, the owner, is on a conference call right now and he has an appointment lined up right after that. Let me pull up his schedule and see when he’s available.”
“That would be great, thank you.” Bree pulled out a business card and gave it to the woman. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Oh lordy! Where are my manners? I’m Carol. I do all the scheduling and phone answering around here.” She extended a well-manicured hand.
Bree smiled at Carol’s Old South charm and shook her hand.
“Oh, speaking of answering phones, I think yours might be off the hook. I tried to call a couple of times, but got that weird busy signal.”
Carol glanced at the phone on her desk and pushed on the handset. “Well, darn it. How long has it been like that? No wonder it’s been so quiet today. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Alright, let me see… What’s your schedule like?”
Grabbing her phone from her purse, Bree pulled up her calendar app. “I have some time blocked off Tuesday morning.”
“Is nine o’clock good?”
“That works.” Bree added the information to her calendar then put her phone in her back pocket.
“Thank you so much for your help. It was lovely meeting you.”
“You too, honey. I’ll give Jason your information as soon as I can pin him down.”
“Have a good afternoon.”
Bree’s hand was on the door when the office to her left opened. She glanced over as Jase walked out of the office, his attention on the papers he was shuffling in his hands.
“Ms. Carol, can you…” Jase trailed off when he looked up and caught sight of Bree standing at the door.
Shit. Jase. Jason. Jase. Holy hell.
Bree stared wide-eyed as he handed Carol the papers in his hand and marched toward her. Too late, she took a step back. “Not this time,” he said. Jase bent, put his shoulder to her stomach and lifted her up in a fireman’s carry. He turned and stalked back to his office.
“Jason Michael Larken! Your mother raised you better than that!” Carol hollered. Bree raised her head to see Carol come around her desk, stand with her hands fisted on her hips, and stamp her foot. If she wasn’t in shock from being thrown over his shoulder and carried off like some caveman’s conquest, Bree might have laughed at the sight of the genteel, southern lady stamping her foot.
Jase slammed the door to his office and turned and hefted Bree off his shoulder just enough to get an arm under her ass and brace her against the wall. His other hand went to the nape of her neck where he forcefully grabbed a handful of hair.
Bree didn’t know whether to be scared or turned on – maybe a little of both. Okay, maybe a lot of both. She wiggled her hips, trying to get her feet on the ground.
“Let me down,” she demanded.
Jase ground his pelvis into hers to stop her movements.
“Be still,” he ordered her. “You’re lucky I don’t bend you over my desk while I spank your pretty ass for bailing on me.”
“Like hell.” She continued to struggle, but her mind and body betrayed her. The image he put in her head ramped up her slow-burning arousal to Mach speed. Her legs spasmed and he pressed their bodies impossibly closer. She gave in and, rather than let her legs dangle uselessly, wrapped them around his hip
s.
“Yeah?” Jase breathed against her neck while he rocked his hips into hers. “You like that idea? I would have done that to you Saturday morning. Spanked your ass pink then kissed every silky inch of your body. But you left. Without leaving your number. Why’d you leave, Bree?”
Jase’s words turned her blood into molten lava in her veins. Bree arched her neck back, giving him room to drag his teeth up the sensitive column of her neck. She was senseless to everything except the orgasm that had been building for close to a week from dreaming of him. And he wanted her to think? Now?
Jase stopped moving his hips and used the hand in her hair to force Bree to look at him, his gaze intense and demanding.
“Answer me, Bree.”
“I don’t do that. I don’t go home with guys. It was awkward.”
Jase started moving his hips again, rubbing the seam of his jeans against her sweet spot, continuing to build the friction. “Does this feel awkward?” he asked in a low voice.
“No,” Bree whispered on an exhale, doing her best to ride his hips.
“Are you going to come for me Bree?” he whispered against her lips.
She felt like a horny teenager, dry humping on her parents’ couch. Except she was pinned to a wall and her legs were wrapped around Jase’s trim waist. Yes, she was going to come.
Jase engulfed her mouth. His tongue invaded and she groaned as her orgasm exploded through her. Finally. Her legs spasmed around his waist and her hips surged against his. The kiss – deep, claiming – continued for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute before Jase pulled back enough to look into her eyes.
Before he could say anything, a buzzer sounded on his desk and Carol’s voice came over the intercom in a staged whisper. “Jason Larken, I don’t know what you’re doing to that poor girl, and I don’t want to know, but you quit it right this instant and get your hiney out here ‘cause your four-thirty appointment is here.”
Bree pressed her lips together to suppress her laughter at six-foot-four Jase being scolded by little bitty Carol.
“It’s not funny.”
Bree smiled. “It kind of is.”
“We’re not done with this conversation,” Jase said.
“We didn’t actually have a conversation. You just threatened to spank me and made me come.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Did you get my meaning?”
She narrowed her eyes, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
He smirked. “We had a conversation.”
Bree rolled her eyes and started wiggling in earnest, trying to get down. “Let me down, Captain Caveman.”
His smirk turned into a grin and he stepped back from the wall. “I’m letting you down only because I don’t have time to bend you over my desk.”
He released her legs, keeping her pressed close to him as her feet finally touched the ground.
She couldn’t believe he had just dry humped her in his office and now he acted like he did her a favor by letting her down. Bree glared at him, causing him to smile even wider. He bent to kiss her, but she turned her head to the side in irritation. She wasn’t going to give in again. He scraped his teeth along her neck where his mouth landed. Bree grabbed the backs of his biceps and tilted her head to give him more access. Damn her traitorous body.
“Yeah, you got me,” he said with a self-satisfied grin.
Bree growled and turned to leave. Conceited ass. Why did it have to be so sexy?
Jase grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her against him. “Wait for me to get done with my meeting. Don’t even think about taking off again.”
Bree tilted her chin up slightly at his warning.
“I’m going to take that as your agreement that you’ll wait for me.” He placed a quick kiss behind her ear.
He reached around her and opened the door to his office, giving Bree a small push to get her moving ahead of him.
Bree walked into the reception area and glanced at Carol sitting behind her desk. She winked at Bree.
“Ms. Carol, make sure Bree is comfortable until I’m done with my meeting.”
Jase turned his attention to the older gentleman in the waiting room.
“Richard, come on back. It’s good to see you again.” Jase held open his door and let the gentleman in ahead of him. Before going into his office, he pointed at Bree in warning. He entered his office and closed the door behind him.
Bree looked at Carol. “Is he always this bossy?”
“Oh honey, you have no idea. That boy’s been wearing bossy pants since he was knee-high to a gnat’s knee.”
Bree couldn’t help but smile at Carol’s analogy. “You’ve known him that long?”
“Oh yes. He and my son were best friends since they were in diapers.” Carol’s look turned wistful.
Bree saw the folded flag on the shelf over Carol’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, honey. It was a few years ago, but I still miss him every day.” She gave a small smile, then schooled her features. “Now, if you’re going to skedaddle, you need to skedaddle.”
Bree raised her eyebrows. “You’re not going to try to keep me here?”
“Brianna honey, the chase isn’t going to be any fun for either of you if you don’t actually run.”
Bree grinned slowly; she really liked Carol. “Thank you, Carol.”
“I’ll see you later,” Carol replied with another wink.
Jase walked out of his office to an empty reception area. Impatiently, he walked Richard to the door before turning to Carol.
“Please tell me she’s in the bathroom,” he demanded.
“Jason Larken, don’t you use that tone of voice with me,” Carol scolded him for the second time that day.
Jase hung his head like he used to when she chastised him as a child. “Yes, Ms. Carol.”
“Now,” Carol went on. “I couldn’t very well hog-tie her to keep her here, now could I?”
Jase threw up his hands. “What does everyone have against hog-tying her? Don’t suppose she mentioned why she was here?”
“Well, I suppose she wanted to talk to someone about setting up a referral system for some of her patients. She’s a physical therapist.”
“Don’t suppose she happened to leave her contact information, did she?”
“I suppose I might have her business card right here on my desk,” Carol told him with an evil smile.
Jase smiled and took the card from her outstretched hand. Brianna Marks, DPT. And it had her cell phone number on it. His smile stretched into a grin.
“Love you, Ms. Carol.”
“Love you too, Jason. Go get her.”
Jase pulled out his cell phone and called his brother. “Hey man, can you do me a favor?”
Bree parked on the side of the small ranch-style house her grandparents had built early in their marriage. They had raised their children here; then later, her. After her grandfather passed away, her grandmother moved to a retirement community and deeded the house to Bree, along with the acre and a half of property they still owned.
Bree entered through the mudroom and laundry off the kitchen and set her bag on the counter. Her dogs scratched at the french doors in the living room leading to the back yard. She grabbed a beer from the fridge on her way to let them in. Glass crunched under her shoes as she crossed the threshold into the living room.
“What the hell?” She looked down. A framed picture had fallen off the wall and shattered on the floor. “Crap. How did that happen?” She stopped before going farther into the living room. More pictures lay shattered on the floor in a pile. She glanced around the room. Only the pictures of her and Chad had fallen - or had been thrown.
She turned and froze. The front door stood slightly ajar. She hardly used the front door. She might live in the country, but she always made sure to lock her doors when she left.
Why are the dogs outside? They should be inside, where they usually had free roam of the house
.
She listened to the house. “Chad?”
She retraced her steps back to the kitchen to get her phone out of her bag and dialed 9-1-1.
“9-1-1 operator. Please state your emergency.”
“This is Brianna Marks. I’m at 5335 Lakeview Drive. Someone broke in to my house.”
“Ma’am, do you think someone is still in your house?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t gone past the living room.”
“Ma’am, for your safety, please exit your house. Do you have somewhere safe you can go? A neighbor, for instance.”
“Not really; I’m out in the country.”
“Do you have a working vehicle you can lock yourself in?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
“Alright ma’am, a sheriff’s unit is on its way. I’ll stay on the line with you until they arrive.”
“No, thank you, I’m good. I’ll just keep my phone on me.”
“Ma’am, you should really stay on the line until the sheriff arrives.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll go wait outside.”
She heard the operator’s sigh on the other end. “Call back if you need to.”
“Thank you.” Bree disconnected. A hand grabbed her upper arm. She let out a scream, wrenched her arm away and spun. She dropped to a knee as she turned and punched out at the attacker, connecting with his crotch.
“What the fuck, Bree,” Jase ground out as he dropped to his knees.
Her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened at the sight of Jase crumpled in front of her. “Oh my god.” She dropped her other knee. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
He dropped his head on her shoulder, curling in on himself. “Fuck no. What did you do that for?”
She ran a hand through his hair, petting him, and tried not to smile. She shouldn’t laugh. She felt bad, but he kind of deserved it for sneaking up on her. “I thought you were whomever broke into my house.”
“What the hell do you mean someone broke into your house?”
“Someone broke into my house,” she repeated. “What more explanation does that need?”
Stitched Up Heart (Combat Hearts Book 1) Page 5
